VOA慢速英语--美国对治疗新冠病毒药物的争论仍在继续

American politicians and doctors are debating whether to use the drug hydroxychloroquine against the new coronavirus. The drug has been used to treat some COVID-19 patients in the United States. But doctors ordering its use have no idea whether it is working.

The medicine is among several drugs they experiment with on those infected. The patients differ in severity of sickness, age, sex, pre-existing health condition and other ways. As a result, it is unclear what treatment has helped those who improve or if they would have improved without any treatment at all.

The drug has been around for many years and is a popular treatment for the diseases malaria¹ and lupus.

‘What do you have to lose?'

American President Trump² is expressing great support for hydroxychloroquine in treating COVID-19. He has said publicly that he might give the drug a try, although tests have shown that he is not infected with the new coronavirus.

On Sunday, during his daily coronavirus press conference, he suggested all infected people should try it. "What do you have to lose?" he asked.

The answer could be your life, in rare cases. Hydroxychloroquine can have severe side effects, including deadly heart problems. It can also cause vision loss, skin wounds, thinking problems, and mental-emotional changes, including hallucinations and paranoia³.

Not all members of the Trump administration's COVID-19 crisis⁴ team agree with the president's judgement on the medicine. The country's leading infectious⁵ disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, supports a more restrained approach to use of the drug while scientists carry out studies on the drug in connection with COVID-19.

How is it being used?

Hydroxychloroquine can help control the body's natural defense⁶, called the immune⁷ system. It has been used since the 1940s to prevent and treat malaria, and to treat rheumatoid arthritis⁸ and lupus. It is sold in generic⁹ form and under the brand name Plaquenil in the United States. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approve its use for malaria, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis only. But doctors can order it for patients with other diseases, now including COVID-19.

What's the evidence?

There are a few small and very early studies on treating COVID-19 patients with hydroxychloroquine. The studies have shown conflicting results. One lab study suggested it damaged the virus' ability to enter cells. Another report on 11 people found it did not improve the speed at which patients cleared the virus or recovered from the disease. A report from China claimed the drug helped more than 100 patients at 10 hospitals, but the study was not carried out with usual scientific controls.

Other researchers in China reported that cough, pneumonia¹⁰ and fever seemed to improve sooner among 31 patients given hydroxychloroquine compared to 31 others who did not get the drug. However, the two groups did not share severity of symptoms. Four people developed severe sickness and all were in the group that did not get the drug. These results were posted online. They did not appear in a traditional scientific publication nor were they officially examined by other researchers.

Finally, a small study from France that Trump noted¹¹ as evidence of the drug's effectiveness is now in question. The head of the publication in which it appeared has put out an expressed concern about the study's methods.

Larger studies using accepted scientific methods are underway now.

The sharp rise of hydroxychloroquine in the U.S.

The United States has quickly become the center of the new coronavirus spread. More than 380,000 people in the United States have been infected, and more than 12,000 have died from COVID-19. The federal government estimates that as many as 240,000 people in the country may die from the disease before the outbreak is over.

Facing those numbers, and lacking any known effective treatments, doctors said they began using hydroxychloroquine on patients who are worsening. Some said they were pressured by patients to use the drug.

Patients admitted to American hospitals are generally much sicker than cases of patients cited¹² in the few studies done. This situation has made it difficult for doctors to judge whether the drugs are making a difference.

Doctors who spoke¹³ to Reuters said they treat coronavirus patients with the medicine for a very limited time. They said the risks are relatively¹⁴ low from only a few days of use and the medicine costs little and is generally available.

"I have seen hundreds of patients with severe COVID and most of these people are on hydroxychloroquine," Dr. Mangala Narasimhan, a director of critical care at Northwell Health, a 23-hospital system in New York, said in an email. "In my opinion, although it is very early, I do not see a dramatic improvement...."

Dr. Daniel McQuillen is an infectious disease specialist at Lahey Hospital & Medical Center in Burlington, Massachusetts. He said he has ordered hydroxychloroquine treatment for about 30 COVID-19 patients so far because the drug has shown "a little bit of antiviral activity." But he has not seen "marked improvement for patients."

Words in This Story

vision -n. the ability to see: sight or eyesight

hallucination -n. something (such as an image, a sound, or a smell) that seems real but does not really exist and that is usually caused by mental illness or the effect of a drug

paranoia -n. a serious mental illness that causes you to falsely believe that other people are trying to harm you

approach -n. a way of dealing¹⁵ with something: a way of doing or thinking about something

generic -adj. not sold or made under a particular brand name

cough -n. an expulsion of air through your throat with a short, loud noise often because you are sick

pneumonia -n. a serious disease that affects the lungs and makes it difficult to breathe

fever -n. a body temperature that is higher than normal

dramatic -adj. striking in appearance or effect

1 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

2 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

3 paranoia   

n.妄想狂，偏执狂；多疑症

参考例句：

• Her passion for cleanliness borders on paranoia.她的洁癖近乎偏执。
• The push for reform is also motivated by political paranoia.竞选的改革运动也受到政治偏执狂症的推动。

4 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

5 infectious   

adj.传染的，有传染性的，有感染力的

参考例句：

• Influenza is an infectious disease.流感是一种传染病。
• What an infectious laugh she has!她的笑声多么具有感染力啊！

6 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

7 immune   

adj.免疫的，有免疫力的，不受影响的，免除的

参考例句：

• I am immune from the disease,for I had it once.我对这病有免疫力，因为我已得过一次了。
• Be immune from corruption.拒腐蚀，永不沾。

8 arthritis   

n.关节炎

参考例句：

• Rheumatoid arthritis has also been linked with the virus.风湿性关节炎也与这种病毒有关。
• He spent three months in the hospital with acute rheumatic arthritis.他患急性风湿性关节炎，在医院住了三个月。

9 generic   

adj.一般的，普通的，共有的

参考例句：

• I usually buy generic clothes instead of name brands.我通常买普通的衣服，不买名牌。
• The generic woman appears to have an extraordinary faculty for swallowing the individual.一般妇女在婚后似乎有特别突出的抑制个性的能力。

10 pneumonia   

n.肺炎

参考例句：

• Cage was struck with pneumonia in her youth.凯奇年轻时得过肺炎。
• Pneumonia carried him off last week.肺炎上星期夺去了他的生命。

11 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

12 cited   

引用( cite的过去式和过去分词 )； 传唤； 记起； [军事]传（或通）令嘉奖

参考例句：

• He cited his heavy workload as the reason for his breakdown. 他说繁重的工作负荷是导致他累垮的原因。
• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat. 医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。

13 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

14 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

15 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。